Refrigerator



June 17, 1930. M. RESEK 1,763,673

REFRIGERATOR Filed March 17, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet l .fi i x j 6, 1

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M. RESEK 1,763,673

REFRIGERATOR Filed March 1'7, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented June 17, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT orrlcr.

MARC RESEK, OF CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO PERFECTION STOVE i COMPANY, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO REFRIGERATOR Application filed Mareh 17, 1928. Serial No. 262,351.

This invention has reference to refrigeration apparatus ofthe intermittent absorp tion type consisting, generally, of a closed system incorporating a generator-absorber;

an evaporator; a delivery conduit leading from the generator-absorber to the evaporator, said conduit involving a condenser and, preferably, a dehydrator in advance of the condenser; a return conduit leading m from the evaporator above the maximum liquid level therein to the generator-absorber below the minimum liquid level therein, together with means for intermittently heating the generator-absorber.

Such an apparatus constitutes the subject 7 matter of, and is illustrated more or less diagrammatically in, an application filed December 27,1927, by David F. Keith, Serial No. 242,574; and my invention pertains more 2 especially to improvements in the type of apparatus referred to in said application, particularly to an improved generatorabsorber and a condenser for use in such apparatus. I

The apparatus is intended for use primarily as a domestic refrigerator and, especially as such, it is desirable to make it as com pact as practicable.

The more important objects of my invention are to provide a novel construction of a generator-absorber for use in apparatus of the type referred to that affords increased refrigeration capacity without requiring more or even as much space for its accommodation as that necessitated by the type of generator-absorber disclosed in the aforesaid application; to increase the efficiency of the generator-absorber by "providing unique means for conserving the heat and effecting rapid transmission of the same to the contents of the generator-absorber during the heating period, and which serves to direct cool air in intimate contact with the generator-absorber during the cooling period andat the same time effect a rapid extraction of heat from the contents of the vessel; to provide a unique arrangementenhancmg the reabsorption of the anhydrous ammonia Or other refrigerant by the water or other absorbent during the cooling or absorption period; and to provide an especially effective condenser for use in apparatus of the class to which the invention ertains and wherein a thermosiphon action is set up which materially increases the effectiveness of the cool- 5 ing medium. The foregoing, with other and more specific objects that will appear as the description proceeds, are attained in the construction illustrated in the accompanying draw- 50 ings wherein Fig. 1 represents a sectional front elevation of a refrigeration apparatus embodying my improvements; Fig 2 is a vertical section from front to rear through the generator-absorber on a scale somewhat 5 enlarged over that of the previous view, the plane of section bein indicated by theline I 2-2 of Fig. 1, and aig. 3 is a horizontal section on the correspondingly numbered line of Fig. 2. I

The apparatus is constructed in the nature of a cabinet involving a refrigeration chamber 1 that is enclosed by suitably insulated walls 2, and spaced from the left hand wall as the apparatus is viewed in Fig. 1, 1s a wall 5 which may be of sheet metal. Supported, as by members 6, above the top wall of the refrlgeration chamber, is a tank 7 shown as having a filling cap 8. The previously mentioned wall 5 terminates at its upper end in about the plane of the top of the tank 7, and the space between said wall and the adjacent walls of the refrigerat on chamber 1 and tank 7, and closed at front and rear by the respective walls 10 and 11, constitutes a flue that is designated 12.

Slidably supported, as upon rails 15 at the bottom of the flue 12 is the base 16 of a combustion device including-liquid fuel'burners tratedare so well known, a more detailed showing and description are deemed unnecessary. The base 16 is in the nature of an open frame, as will be seen by reference to Fig. 3, and offers practically no obstruction to air that tends to rise throu h the flue 12. The combustion device is a apted to be inserted and withdrawn through an opening 22 in the front wall 10 (Fig. 2)'and said opening is closed by a plate 23 that rises from the front end of the base 16, when the combustion device is in normal position.- A handle'24 is applied to the late 23. to facilitate the insertion and withdrawal of the combustion device.

The generator-absorber is designated generally by the reference character A, and it consists of two vertically disposed cylindrical tanks or vessels A and A. These vessels are arranged, the former in front of the latter, within the lower portion of the flue 12, each of the vessels being disposed directly above one of the burners 17 of the combustion device when the latter is in its normal or operative position. A tube a leads from the bottom of the vessel A forwardly and thence upwardly through the bottom of the vessel A to an elevation therein below the minimum liquid level represented by the line as. Communicatively connecting the two vessels below said minimum liquid level is a cross pipe or. The upper ends of the vessels A and A are connected together through the branched end b of a conduit B that rises from the generator-absorber upwardly through the adjacent end of the bot tom wall of the tank 7 and after ascending within said tank to an elevation near the top thereof is coiled about and downwardly to about the center of the bottom portion of the tank, the convolutions becoming smaller as they descend so as to effect an inverted conical coil which constitutes a condenser designated C. The ascending portion of the convolution, designated 0, serves as a to dehydrator, as will hereinafter appear.

Situated .within the upper portion of the refrigeration chamber 1 is the evaporator D, shown in the form of a cylindrical tank having a sump 03 formed in its bottom wall and a dome d rising from its top wall through the corresponding wall of the refrigeration chamber. A pipe 0' leads from the lower extremity of the condenser C downwardly through the bottom wall of the tank 7 and through the top wall of the dome d to the bottom of the evaporator D where it terminates in the sump d. The conduit B, the dehydrator c, the condenser C and the pipe 0 collectively constitute what'I shall term the delivery conduit for conveying the refrigerant from the generator-absorber to the evaporator during the heating period. E is a return conduit that is shown as lead ing from the. top portion of the dome d it to the contents of the vessels.

.of the evaporator D, laterally andthence of the dome D and thence-laterally and downwardly through the top wall of the vessel A of the generator-absorber and, as will hereinafter more-fully appear, any residue liquid left in the evaporator at the conclusion of the cooling period will be returned to the generator-absorber through the siphon before the next succeeding heating period.

Shown as completely surrounding the cylindrical wall of each of the vessels A and A is a corrugated or accordion pleated plate a the inner edges of the corrugations being in intimate contact with the wall of the vessel. The corrugated plate is suitably attached to said wall, as by brazin or welding or as by heavily tin-plating t e assembly. Applied to the front and rear sides of each vesselare plates a having considerably deeper corrugations than the plate 0 the inner edges ofthe corru ations of the plates a bearing within the c annels of the corrugations of the corresponding plate a. The plates a may be connected to the plates 01 in the same manner as the latter plates are attached to the walls of the vessels. A sleeve (1* encircles each vessel with its corrugated plates and extends a suitable distance above and below the vessel, as clearly shown in Fig.2.

During the heating period, the sleeves a confine the heat from the burners 17 close to the walls of the vessels A. and A and cause it to rise through the passageways effected by the corrugations of the plates at and a, said plates serving as heat abstracting veins to conduct the heat units to the v walls of the vessels which, in turn, transmit During the cooling period, an upward draft of fresh air is introduced through the sleeves a and through the channels defined by the corrugations of the plates a and a and heat exchange in reverse direction to that above described is efiected between the contents of the vessels and the surrounding air.

Supported, as by brackets 0 within the tank 7, is a deflector designated generally by the reference character c and comprlsmg a horizontal part 0 having a central opening, and a cylindrical part a that depends from the former part about said opening.

The system, comprising the generatorabsorber A; the delivery conduit; the evaporator D; the return conduit E, and the siphon F, is hermatically sealed and permanently contains a quantity of a suitable refrigerant, such as ammonia, and an ab-" sorbent for the refrigerant, such as water, in the proper proportions. The compound is commonly referred to as the refrigerant liquor, and when all the liquor is present in the vessel A and A of the generator-absorber A, it stands at about the level indicated by the dotted lines 3 To start the apparatus in operation the dispensing receptacle 20 of the combustion device, filled with oil, is inserted within the distributing receptacle 18 and the burners 17 are lighted. The products of combustion from the burners 17 rise within the sleeves a and through the channels defined b the corrugations of the plates 0, and a a out the vessels A and A and out the tops of the sleeves and escape through the upper portion of the flue 12.

In practice, the temperature of the enerator-absorber is raised during the rst hour to approximately 325 F. This hour represents the heating period, or the interval of active heat, the fuel supply accommodated by the dispensing receptacle 20 being such as will be exhausted in practically that length of time. During this hour, the pressure within the system rises to substantially 160 pounds, the most abrupt rise occuring within the very early stages of the heating period. On the cessation of heat-that is, after the fuel supply has been exhausted-the temperature of the generator-absorber and the pressure in the system immediately start to drop and the cooling) period is thus initiated.

uring the heating period, the ammonia or other refrigerant in the generator-absorber is driven out of solution and, in the form of vapor, rises through the delivery conduit and while passing through the portion of said conduit that constitutes the dehydrator designated by the reference character a all or the greater percentage of the water vapors wherewith the ammonia or refrigerant as is saturated, condenses and flows back into the generator-absorber, the refrigerant gas continuing on through the portion of the conduit that constitutes the condenser C and condenses therein, the resultant liquid anhydrous ammonia or refrigerant being discharged through the pipe 0' into the evaporator D.

At the conclusion of this phase of the operation, the evaporator contains its maximum amount of liquid, the level of which is indicated by the dotted line 2, and this body of liquid may contain a relatively small amount of aqueous condensate, it being practically impossible to obtain a complete dehydration of the refrigerant vapors.

As above stated, the cooling period starts with the cessation of heat, or at the beginning of the second hour, and it continues on until the next heating period which, in the case at hand, is approximately twent three hours distant. As previously sta very soon after the heat is removed from the generator-absorber the pressure within the system starts to drop abruptly. Under these conditions, the liquid refrigerant in the evaporator starts to vaporize under the influence of the relatively warm surrounding air in the refrigeration compartment 1 and under the low pressure now prevailing in the system, the water in the generator-absorber attracts the refrigerant or ammonia gas through the return conduit E. The passage of the gas from the evaporator to the generator-absorber through the return conduit is assured by the fact that the discharge end of the delivery conduit is sealed by the liquid in the evaporator, and this seal remains effective until the liquid level falls below the end of the pipe 0'. This seal which, as will be gathered from the foregoing, prevents the escape of gas from the evaporator through the delivery conduit by way of the condenser and dehydrator to the enerator-absorber is rendered especially efective by the fact that a considerable portion of the delivery conduit adjacent its discharge end is housed within the evaporator and thus not only protected from the in-' fiuence of the relatively warm air within the refrigeration compartment but is maintained cool b the evaporation of the ammonia or refrigerant immediately surround ing in within the evaporator. It will be readily understood that if this portion of the delivery conduit were exposed to the warmer surrounding air, the liquid anhydrous ammonia which it contains would immediately flash into gas and would set up a flow through the delivery conduit contrary to that desired.

As the ammonia or refrigerantgas escapes from the discharge end of the return conduit E, it is absorbed by the solution in the generator-absorber. This enriches the solution in the immediate vicinit of said end and this enriched or relative y strong liquor, having less specific gravity than the weaker liquor due to its ammoma content, tends to rise within the tube a, thus creating an upward flow in the=vertical portion of said tube and setting up a circulation of the liquor in the vessel A by reason of the fact that communication is established between the lower portion of said vessel and the tube through an op'enin a in the tube, and a further circulation om thevessel A above said tube through the cross pipe (1., downwardl within the vessel A and through the tu a; and this action continues as long as ammonia gas is supplied from the evaporator, thereby insuring a very thorough mixing of the constituents of the aqueous refrigerant.

During the evaporation of the liquid refrigerant and the consequential absorption of heat thereby from the surrounding air in the refrigeration compartment 1, the temperature of said compartment is accordingly lowered, and in practice it is found that t is temperature is maintained within a range of less than 10 during the entire cycle of operation, it being the highest at the conclusion of the heating period and the lowest at about the middle of the cooling period. Y

During the early stages of the heating period, when the pressure within the system rises the fastest, a part of any liquid that is present within the evaporator D is forced up the shorter leg of the siphon F, and a part of the solution in the generator-absorber which at this time has a level above the discharge end of the siphon, is likewise forced up the long leg, the quantities of liquid within the two legs approaching each other or meeting within the horizontal branch of the siphon. Any refrigerant gas present within said branch will be absorbed by the liquid and, by reason of such absorption, the suspended columns of liquid in the legs of the siphon will be attracted toward each other, tending to create a continuous liquid body from one end ofthe siphon to the other. As soon as this condition prevails, a siphonic action is set up in the direction of the generator-absorber which draws all residue liquid from the evaporator over into the generator-absorber. As soon as the siphonic action is,interru pted by the descent of the liquid below the lnlet end of the siphon, such action will not be repeated until the subsequent rise of pressure incident to the next heating period, and then only in case there is residue liquid in the evaporator.

With reference to the condenser, attention is directed to the fact that all convolutions of the coil whereof the condenser is formed are out of vertical alignment with respect to one another due to the conical shape of the coil. It is to be understood, of course, that the tank 7 permanently contains a suitable cooling medium, such as water, in sufficient quantity to practically fill the tank. The heat from the coil creates an upward flow of the cooling medium about its convolutions, and inasmuch as said convolutions are out of vertical alignment with one another, the heat from one portion of the coil is not carried to the portion next above, and the heated medium, rising beneath the horizontal part c of the deflector 0 flows outwardly about the edge of said part and thence upwardly and inwardly and induces a downward flow through the cylindrical part a of the deflector, the cooler medium in turn passing out of the lower end of the cylindrical part and thence upwardly about the coil. By this means the maximum efliciency is realized from the cooling medium.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. In refrigeration apparatus of the class set forth, the combination of a cabinet enclosing both a refrigeration chamber and a relatively narrow and deep flue to one side thereof, a plurality of vessels arranged in line depthwise of said flue and constituting a generator-absorber, an evaporator in the re rigeration chamber, a system of conduits through which the generator-absorber and the evaporator communicate, and means for heating the generator-absorber.

2. In refrigeration apparatus of the class set forth, the combination of a cabinet enclosing both a refrigeration chamber and a relatively narrow and deep flue to one side thereof, a generator-absorber situated within the flue and comprising a plurality of vessels arranged in line de thwise of said flue, an evaporator in the re rigeration chamber, a system of conduits through which the generator-absorber and the evaporator communicate, and a combustion device removably supported in the lower portion of the flue and incorporating burners located beneath the respective vessels of the generator-absorber.

3. In refrigeration apparatus of the class set forth, the combination of a cabinet enclosing both a refrigeration chamber and a relatively narrow and deep flue to one side thereof, a generator-absorber situated entirely within the flue, an evaporator in the refrigeration chamber, a system of conduits through which the generator-absorber and the evaporator communicate, a wall of the cabinet having an opening leading into the fiue beneath the generator-absorber, and a self-contained combustion device insertable through said opening and comprising oil burning means adapted to be positioned below the generator-absorber, a liquid fuel reservoir communicating with the oil burning means, and a closure for covering the aforesaid opening when the combustion device is in operative relation to the generator-absorber.

4. In refrigeration apparatus of the class set forth, the combination of a generatorabsorber comprising two vessels, means through which said vessels communicate a relatively short distance below the minimum liquid level therein, a tube extending from the bottom of one of said vessels upwardly through the bottom of the other vessel to a point therein at about the level of the aforesaid means, an evaporator, a delivery conduit through which the upper ends of said vessels communicate and which leads.to the evaporator, a return conduit leading from the evaporator to the generator absorber and having its discharge end disposed within the upper end of the aforesaid tube, for heatin the generator-absorber.

5. In refrigeration apparatus of the class set forth, the combination of a generatorabsorber comprising two vessels, a tube extending from the bottom of one of said vessels upwardly through the bottom of the other vessel to a point therein below the minimum liquid level in said vessel, a cross pipe through which said vessels communicate below their minimum liquid level, an evaporator, a delivery conduit through which the upper ends of said vessels communicate and which leads to the evaporator, a return conduit leading from the evaporator to the generator absorber and having its discharge end disposed within the upper end of the aforesaid tube, and means for heating the generator-absorber.

6. In refrigeration apparatus of the class set forth, the combination of a generatorabsorber comprising two vessels arranged side by side, a tube leading from the bottom of the first of said vessels across and upwardly through the bottom of the second of said vessels to a point therein below the minimum liquid level in said vessel, an evaporator, a conduit through which the vessels communicate at their upper ends and which leads to the evaporator, a return conduit leading from the evaporator through a wall of the second mentioned vessel and having its discharge end located within the end of the aforesaid tube, a siphon having its short leg terminatin adjacent the bottom of the evaporator an its long leg terminating in the generator-absorber, and means for heating the generator-absorber.

7. In refrigeration apparatus of the class set forth, the combination of a generatorabsorber comprising two vessels arranged side by side,a tube leading from the bottom of the first of said vessels across and upwardly through the bottom of the second of said vessels to 'a point therein below the minimum liquid level in said vessel, a cross pipe through which said vessels communicate below their minimum liquid level, an evaporator, a conduit through which the vessels communicate at their upper ends and which leads to the evaporator, a return conduit leading from the evaporator through the top wall of the second mentioned vessel and having its discharge end located within the end of the aforesaid tube, a siphon having its short leg extending downwardly into the evaporator and terminating adjacent the bottom thereof and its long leg leading downwardly through the top wall of the first mentioned vessel, and means for heating the generator-absorber.

8. In refrigeration apparatus of the class set forth, the combination of a cabinet enclosing both a refrigeration chamber and a flue to one side thereof, a generator-aband means sorber situated within the flue, an evaporator in the refrigeration chamber, a system of conduits through which the generator-absorber and the evaporator communicate, a wall of the cabinet having an opening leading into the flue beneath the generator-absorber, and a self-contained combustion device insertable and removable through said opening and adapted to be positioned below the generator absorber and including oil burning means and a liquid fuel reservoir in communication therewith, and a closure for the aforesaid opening.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto affix my signature.

MARC RESEK. 

